Jennifer Polinski, M.S.

Jennifer Polinski diving at a coral restoration site in Bonaire

Conservation Genomics for Resilient Ocean Ecosystems

As part of GMGI’s Healthy Oceans and Fisheries division, Jennifer Polinski’s overarching research goal is to utilize advanced genomic and computational technologies to address pressing challenges in marine conservation. Building on expertise spanning reference genome assembly, transcriptomics, and environmental DNA, her research now focuses on generating actionable genomic data for threatened ecosystems — from the rapidly warming Gulf of Maine to imperiled Caribbean coral reefs. By identifying adaptive genetic variation and characterizing ecosystem-wide biodiversity, she aims to provide the molecular insights needed to guide science-based management and restoration strategies in a changing ocean.

Research Focus

Seascape genomics and demographic modeling to improve conservation and restoration efforts

Effective conservation and restoration require understanding how populations are connected, how they have responded to past environmental changes, and which individuals carry adaptive variation. Seascape genomics links spatial environmental variation to adaptive genetic diversity, while demographic modeling reconstructs population histories. When combined, these approaches can reveal historical population dynamics and resilient genotypes that can be used to inform more efficient restoration strategies.

Featured Project:

Genetic diversity, species delineation, and thermal tolerance in Caribbean corals

Caribbean coral reefs face unprecedented threats from climate-driven bleaching and disease outbreaks, making it critical to identify resilient genotypes for conservation and restoration. In collaboration with the Vollmer Lab at Florida Atlantic University, Jennifer is using whole genome sequencing and seascape genomics to characterize genetic diversity, identify markers of thermal tolerance and disease resistance, and reconstruct the genomic architecture underlying species divergence in threatened Orbicella and Acropora species.

This work is being conducted as part of Jennifer’s doctoral thesis for Northeastern University’s Marine and Environmental Sciences Ph.D. program.

Ecosystem-wide biodiversity assessments to characterize marine communities and monitor changes

Biodiversity is a key driver of ecosystem function, stability, and productivity. Jennifer and the Harke Lab are using eDNA metabarcoding, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics to characterize communities from microbes to marine mammals.

Featured Projects:

The whale blow microbiome

Whales are among the most recognizable and charismatic marine organisms and are considered sentinel species for the health of ocean ecosystems, but one in four cetacean species are vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. Since 2018, Jennifer has been collaborating with Ocean Alliance to characterize the whale respiratory tract microbiome via SnotBot-collected blow samples, generating baseline data for future use as a monitoring tool.

Biodiversity of the Annisquam River

The Annisquam River is a tidal salt-water estuary, stretching from Ipswich Bay to Gloucester Harbor, that represents an important navigational, fishery, and recreational resource as well as important habitat for marine and terrestrial organisms. The river is subject to numerous stressors from human activities, including dredging, development, and sea level rise due to climate change. Jennifer is leading a longitudinal study, spanning 5 years, to understand the seasonal community structure and impacts of human-induced stressors on the microorganisms that support this important ecosystem.

Featured Collaborators

Steve Vollmer, Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University

Iain Kerr, Ph.D., Ocean Alliance

Featured Publications

See Jennifer Polinski’s full list of publications here.

Polinski, J.M., Strand, E.L., O’Donnell, T.P., Silva, T.L., Wiley, D.N. and Harke, M.J. (2025), Environmental DNA Documents Ecosystem-Wide Biodiversity Within the Marine Protected Area Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Environmental DNA, 7:e70138. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70138

Polinski, J.M., Rodrigue, M., Meyer, J.D., Harke, M.J. (2023) Drifting in the deep: Metatranscriptomics and metabarcoding reveal sustained metabolic activity and community composition in hydrothermal vent plume microbial communities. Frontiers in Marine Science. 10:1219784. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1219784

Atkinson, Rogan A., Baker C. S., Dagdag R., Redlinger M., Polinski J. M., Urban J., Sremba A., Branson M., Mashburn K., Pallin L., Klink A., Steel D., Bortz E., Kerr I. 2021. Genetic, Endocrine, and Microbiological Assessments of Blue, Humpback and Killer Whale Health using Unoccupied Aerial Systems. Wildlife Society Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1240

Polinski, J.M., Zimin, A.V., Clark, K.F., Kohn, A.B., Sadowski, N., Timp, W., Ptitsyn, A., Khanna, P., Romanova, D.Y., Williams, P., Greenwood, S.J., Moroz, L.L., Walt, D.R. and Bodnar, A.G. (2021) The American lobster genome reveals insights on longevity, neural, and immune adaptations. Science Advances Vol. 7, no. 26, eabe8290 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe8290

Polinski, J.M. and J.D. Voss. 2018. Evidence of photoacclimatization at mesophotic depths in the coral-Symbiodinium symbiosis at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and McGrail Bank. Coral Reefs, 37(3): 779-789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-018-1701-2